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Water tester for soil ph?
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Posted by stellagord z5b? Toronto (My Page) on Wed, Apr 28, 04 at 6:55
| Hi. I have a question about testing my soil's pH. I have a TON of aquarium testing stuff (pH, nitrogen, etc), although I'm shutting down my aquariums. I wondering whether anyone knows if/how I can use the water testing kits to test my soil pH and nutrient levels. (I find soil testing kits ridiculously expensive, at least in Toronto.)
I think I read somewhere that you can take a sample of soil, add water, let it settle for several hours, and then add the pH-testing material to the water to get an accurate reading of the soil pH.
Has anyone heard anything about this, or have any experience with it? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Water tester for soil ph?
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| I too have thought of doing this but my consern is that the water ph value could mess up the results. |
RE: Water tester for soil ph?
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| This will work, though the pH of the water, as suggested, should be 7 prior to adding the soil. |
RE: Water tester for soil ph?
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| I test my own soil all the time. Use distilled water and don't worry too much about the proportion of soil to water since pH is a logrithmic value. The only thing is that the experts suggest you run a buffered pH test to tell you precisely how much lime to add. I suggest you play with figures,; don't add more than 3,000 lb/acre lime/yr. and check pH the following year. To be on safe side use a mix of calcitic and dolomitic(High Magnesium)limestones. |
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